SpaceX and Boeing are part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program that aims to launch rotational missions to the International Space Station (ISS) from the United States. However, Boeing is falling behind - the Starliner spacecraft has not completed the necessary testing to obtain a human spaceflight certification. The company has faced issues and delays to conduct a successful demonstration flight of Starliner docking to ISS.
In December 2019, Boeing Starliner's computer timer malfunctioned during its first demonstration mission for NASA, causing it to fire its engines incorrectly and it failed to reach the proper orbit. Boeing stated the craft did reach a stable orbit but it did not accomplish the correct altitude to be able to dock with the orbiting Station. Then the company delayed their second demonstration mission, Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2), that was scheduled for December 2020. This year, NASA and Boeing had everything ready to conduct the OFT-2 flight in August but the company’s Starliner faced another delay due to issues with the vehicle’s propulsion valves.
Each month Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner test slips, Boeing falls further behind SpaceX in delivering NASA astronauts to the Space Station. SpaceX has been performing all crewed missions since the Commercial Crew Program started to launch crewed flights from American soil in 2020. SpaceX will also launch the third and fourth operational missions, Crew-3 and Crew-4, under the agency’s program.
This week, NASA announced SpaceX targets to launch Crew-3 astronauts on Sunday, October 31 [time pending]. The astronauts' Halloween costume will be their cool SpaceX spacesuit as they launch to the Space Station atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Crew-3 NASA astronauts are: Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer. They will launch to the Space Station aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket to initiate their 6-month-long mission. It will be the first flight to space for Chari, Barron, and Maurer. The only veteran astronaut is Marshburn, who has traveled to space three times. Upon arrival, Crew-3 will be welcomed by Crew-2 astronauts who are currently working at the orbiting laboratory. Crew-2 and Crew 3 missions will overlap for a week or two. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Aki Hoshide, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will return to Earth aboard Crew Dragon Endeavour in early-to-mid November.
NASA also set a target launch date for the fourth operational mission to ISS, Crew-4 is set to launch no earlier than (NET) April 15, 2022. “Crew-4 will be commanded by Kjell Lindgren with Bob Hines as pilot, both NASA astronauts. ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will be a mission specialist and command the ISS Expedition 68 crew, while the remaining crew member has yet to be named,” the agency shared in a press release this week. “Crew-3 astronauts are set to return to Earth in late April 2022 following a similar handover with Crew-4.”
All Images Source: NASA & SpaceX
About the Author
Evelyn Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
